Shi's father and mother were perhaps blinded by their own involvement, or maybe they simply refused to admit their own mistakes.
In any case, they quickly pushed all the blame onto Shi Yaoguang's shoulders.
They never considered that if they hadn't forced Shi Yaoguang to apologize to Nie Feng, he wouldn't have had the chance to turn the tables on them.
But none of that mattered anymore.
The irreversible had been done, and any regrets they might have, or any other thoughts, were now useless.
...
No sooner had Shi Yaoguang left Banshan Villa than she received an invitation call from An Siqi.
To shift the blame for the live streaming accident onto her, An Siqi had dallied in the hotel with Tang Baiwan after lunch.
It was only after he had his fill of fun that she sought out Shi Yaoguang.
"Yaoguang, I didn't foresee such a mishap during the live stream, you wouldn't blame me for that, would you?"
Shi Yaoguang: "I would."
An Siqi choked, not expecting her to be so unconventional, and could only stiffly ignore her response, continuing, "I was in a bad mood at the time, don't take it to heart. To apologize to you, I've specifically reserved a private room at Jinhe Palace. You must come, okay!"
Jinhe Palace was a luxury private restaurant.
Of course, the point wasn't about the high cost, but rather the location of Jinhe Palace.
Jinhe Palace was just two streets away from the city hospital.
The victims of the accident during An Siqi's live stream were in the city hospital.
To say there was no trickery involved was impossible.
An Siqi waited half a day without a response from Shi Yaoguang and grew more impatient.
"Yaoguang, don't forget we're best friends. You can't let a little thing come between us! I won't have it; I've already booked the place at Jinhe Palace, and you must come!"
"Alright then."
"If you don't come, then we can no longer be friends—" An Siqi thought she would refuse and blurted out the threat, but upon realizing what she had said, she awkwardly fell silent, "I'm glad you're willing to come."
"I've started to order, hurry over."
With that, she hung up the phone in a fluster.
Shi Yaoguang looked at the disconnected screen and let out a snort.
She brought this upon herself; there is no living with the consequences.
...
Quan Mansion.
Quan Jinbei, as usual, was dealing with public duties in his study.
Chen Shu and Jiu Yanchuan, however, paid him a surprise visit on this matter.
"What brings you here?"
Quan Jinbei was somewhat surprised to see them arrive.
Chen Shu urgently said, "We just wanted to see for ourselves how you and your darling wife get along!"
Quan Jinbei's eyebrows lifted slightly. "Since when have you been interested in my private life?"
"Ha~" Chen Shu waved his hand dismissively, "You don't know, I met someone from the Shi Family today, your Mrs. Quan!"
"Hmm? What about her?"
Quan Jinbei had a fair understanding of Shi Yaoguang and wasn't worried that she would encounter any troubles.
Seeing his calm demeanor, Chen Shu couldn't help but erupt, "Jinbei, are you serious? Your wife has been bullied like that, and you're still so indifferent?"
Quan Jinbei furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Chen Shu was all bluster and no substance, so Jiu Yanchuan spoke for him, "When I was on inspection today, I happened to come across a school bullying incident. Shi Yaoguang was the sole victim."
Quan Jinbei tapped his fingertips lightly, his tone carrying a hint of skepticism, "Are you sure you're talking about the one I married?"
"Who else?" Chen Shu said excitedly, "She admitted it herself!"
Quan Jinbei: "..."
Seeing that he wanted a moment of peace, Chen Shu let out a long sigh, "Look, Jinbei brother, you didn't just marry the girl out of kindness, did you?"
"Kindness?" Quan Jinbei's expression cracked for a moment.
Chen Shu glanced at him darkly and sighed again, "At first, I didn't believe her words, but then I thought about it, there's really nothing on her you would covet... at most, it's just..."
He lowered his voice for the next part.
Still, Quan Jinbei heard him loud and clear.
He said.
At most, Jinbei brother, you're just after her youth and beauty, lusting after the girl's body.
Hearing this, Quan Jinbei couldn't hold back and raised his hand to give him a hard smack.
Listen to him, what nonsense is he spouting?
Chen Shu looked at him grievously, and Quan Jinbei said in a deep voice, "Keep your mouth shut, I married her for other reasons, you mind your own business."
Jiu Yanchuan still remembered her being bullied and immediately said, "It seems the Shi Family can't take a hint; according to my investigation, Miss Shi has always been in a difficult position at school, and being bullied is all too common for her..."
"Now that she's yours, we can't just ignore it, do you want me to step in, make an impression?"
Quan Jinbei outright refused, "No need."
Chen Shu grew anxious, "Jinbei brother, even if you're not lusting after her body right now, you can't just sit back and do nothing! You didn't see, but the injuries on her body were serious, if the assailants hadn't been wary of her background, she might well have died on the spot from her severe injuries!"
Quan Jinbei, seeing that he wasn't exaggerating, couldn't help but be dubious.
Shi Yaoguang had produced a jade pendant that made him feel comfortable, even claiming it could prolong his life...
He didn't believe that such a person, capable of such miraculous feats, could really make herself out to be a pitiable creature.
Yet he had no intention of intervening too much; he believed that if Shi Yaoguang ever needed his help, she would certainly not be shy about it.
At the same time.
Tang Baiwan manipulated an army of a million fans to launch an attack on Shi Yaoguang.
News of a wealthy young mistress conducting live streams to amass wealth, leading to users' faces getting ruined, instantly swept across the internet.
An Siqi had leaked the news to the victims early on.
The victim who caused the uproar was a city white-collar worker earning a hundred thousand a month, whose pastime was watching live streams and shopping.
The reason she was willing to buy products from Xiaoqi's live stream was that the other party advertised using the name of a wealthy young mistress.
Just think, if a rich young mistress was using these products, could they not be good?
Secondly, if I'm using the same product as the rich young mistress, by rounding up, you could make an equation.
I = Wealthy Heiress.
Many people bought products with this mindset, even the majority.
Zheng Xiuxin had always been a loyal fan of Xiaoqi's live stream because of the wealthy same-style products.
She used the skincare products frequently, and her face deteriorated rapidly.
After her face was ruined, she stayed in the hospital for care.
In the evening, she suddenly received a message.
[Hello, Ms. Zheng, I am Xiaoqi's assistant. I'm messaging you because I want to tell you something.
The person who caused your face to be ruined is not Xiaoqi, but the Shi heiress. You have been following the live stream and must know that the person behind it is a wealthy heiress, right?
All the products sold by our Sister Xiaoqi were instigated by that heiress… She is now planning to dine at Jinhe Palace; if you have any questions, you can find her there.]